Hope Within the Hopeless
by smileandwave
Summary: AU Yukimura Seiichi never knew that dreams could be so frighteningly... real.
1. A Dream or Not?

This is my first FanFic… I hope people like the first chapter so they respond and can help give me advice for the story 

Title: Hope Within the Hopeless

Rating: T

# of Words: 1,116

**Chapter 1: A Dream or Not?**

_He didn't know where he was anymore. Everything was pitch black, any solid object invisible to the human eye. He felt around for something to hold onto, but could find nothing. Cool drafts from somewhere rushed at him, pounding through his thin clothing and numbing him to the core. Trembling overtook his body, making him seem as fragile as a dead leaf about to break off a tree branch. He didn't know what it was caused by; he was very calm and collected in most every situations. _

_Then, he heard a voice crooning out his name. His senses sharpened, as he searched for the owner of the voice. Over and over the voice called to him, but as he came closer to the voice, it became fainter. He didn't want to be all alone in the inky darkness, so he began to call out to the voice, praying that he would hear and address him. His pleas were all in vain, as the voice faded into nothingness and he was left alone again. _

_Suddenly, the darkness around him vanished, leaving him in a large grassy field. He had finally regained composure of himself and stood up, admiring the beautiful wildlife around him. Birds chirped and twittered around merrily as they flew about the trees bordering the field. Cicadas and crickets screeched and clicked in the tall, lush grass, hopping about on the tips of the grasses. He wondered if the voice from the darkness was in the field with him, and cautiously looked around. He could see no signs of danger, and the voice was nowhere to be heard. Letting out a sigh of relief, he sunk back down to the soft earth and lay back to enjoy the bright blue sky above him. The area he was in seemed safe enough; there was no one around to harm him._

_Involuntarily, he let his playful side take over him as he had seen a beautiful butterfly with purple wings fly by him and wandered after the butterfly. He had wandered through the great thickets of the forest, scratched by the low hanging branches and dirtied by clumps of earth that collected on his clothing as he marched through. He seemed unphased at everything that was happening to him at the moment, only focused on the lovely insect in front of him. _

_After finally snapping out of his entrancement, he found himself at the edge of large pond with a miniature waterfall at the further end. Slowly, he made his way down to the water's edge where the sandy shore met the crystal clear water. The purple butterfly had slipped back into the forest, but he was too interested in the pure clear water of the pond to notice. Carefully, he dipped his palms down into the water, feeling the cool liquid clear his head and cause him to relax even more. He pressed his face against the water cautiously, as if not wanting to break the picture perfect image by putting himself into the water. Noticing that nothing had happened at his action, he cautiously slid his entire body into the pond, allowing the sparkling water to envelop his body. The cool water soothed him, as he floated on his back letting the ripples in the water rock him gently. _

_All of a sudden, the peaceful scene was shattered as his heard a low rasping voice croak out his name. He jerked up, causing the small ripples in the water to become miniature waves in the water. Glancing around with uncertainty, he felt his muscles clench, his mouth pressed into a thin line. He didn't like the sound of the voice that spoke to him. The voice called his voice out again, this time, in a louder voice. He felt the voice come closer to him. He began to shudder, his breath quickening. He knew there wasn't something right about the voice, and that he had to get out of the water fast. He tried to make his legs move, but they weren't going. Frantically, he flailed around in the water, trying to get out bun not moving anywhere. Then, something tugged his leg and the next thing he knew, he was under water. _

_He tried thrashing about to get his foot free from the brutal grip on his ankle, but the hand wouldn't budge. He felt himself loosing energy to fight back, his struggling becoming nonexistent. The voice kept talking to him while all this was happening, chanting something that he couldn't make out. He couldn't fight back, his energy was depleted. His lungs started to constrict after being held underwater for so long. The hand tugged him deeper and deeper into the pond, the water becoming colder and darker the further they went down. Air was virtually nothing, as he struggled to stay conscious. Lungs burning for air, he forced them open involuntarily, water rushing through him. The voice became louder, the hand tugging him down and down to the loud booming of the voice. He knew there was no escape; nothing he could do would save him. Numbness filled his body as his vision started to fail. Letting his body finally go limp, he plunged into unconsciousness, never to waken again. _

With a gasp, a young boy woke up after having a horrendous nightmare. His breathing hitched, as he struggled to regain air into his lungs. "It was only a dream," the boy thought to himself as he took slow, deep breaths. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, pulling the thin blanket that lay over him to splash water in his face. Once he pulled the blanket off his body, he placed his feet gingerly on the floor, only to stop once noticing the slight pain in his ankle. He looked down at his legs, and to his horror, five bruises, all of the same size, surrounded his ankle, as if someone had been clinging to it, or dragging someone down.

Yes! Finished with the first chapter! Well, how do you guys like it so far? I hope it is a good start to my story, and I apologize that it isn't such a long chapter if you happen to like long ones. I haven't given readers a good idea who the characters are yet, but even so, I hope you guys comment on it so I can feel motivated to write more than 3 chapters. My goal is to make this story around 7-10 chapters long… If I get enough reviews, maybe I'll aim higher! Please review!


	2. News and Newcomers

Aww, no one reviewed my first chapter 

Aww, no one reviewed my first chapter . I hope it wasn't really bad or anything… And that people keep reading it. Everyone, FEEL FREE TO REVIEW!!

Title: Hope Within the Hopeless

Rating: T

# of Words: 1,896

**Chapter 2: News and Newcomers**

Sanada Genichiro woke to the pounding of a servant's fist against his sleeping room's door. He moaned, pushing the thickly padded comforters off his body and swung his legs off the side of the bed. Inhaling deeply, he let the fresh, crisp clean air of the early morning flood into his lungs. With a gentle sigh, he slid slowly off the downy mattress and onto the cool stone floor. His feet found themselves in soft white slippers, a blazing red cloak upon his shoulders.

Sanada then walked briskly to his walk in closet, scanning the racks for his proper attire. His sharp eyes finally fell upon his blue silk top and bottoms, laced in golden tresses. He gently took off his cloak, placing it back in its appropriate place. In one swift motion, he declothed himself and slid into his attire for the day.

"Sanada-kun, your father requests your presence in the throne room," said a small voice from outside his door.

"Ah, I shall be present within the next quarter of an hour," he responded gruffly. Seemingly pleased with the response of over six words, the servant left the door and plodded deeper into the Sanada home.

Once he was sure the servant had left, he began meticulously looking around his sleeping quarters for his iron sword, the one he always carried at his side. It had been a gift given to him by his grandfather, so that he could learn to defend himself if anyone attacked him while he was outside the family compound. His father taught him the art of sword fighting, training him until he was unable to move. Sanada's burning passion to be able to master the skills of the sword helped him achieve greatness at a remarkably young age. At only age six, he could already beat rank D5 fighters (1) without much difficulty. Now, with him being twelve, he could take on B5 warriors.

Sanada thought he placed his sword by his bedside, but it didn't appear to be there. He sat down on his bed, trying to recollect where he was when he had his sword. He had already spent ten of his fifteen minutes looking for his precious object when it was spotted under a mountain of scrolls and books. Wondering how it could have ever gotten there, he hastily grabbed it and tucked it under his belt and made way for the throne room, hoping he wasn't late for the meeting.

_Yukimura POV… _

"Yukimura-nii! Come with us to go swimming in the pond," squeaked a young girl around the age of five, pulling at the elder boy's arm in trying to get him up.

"Maybe a little later, Mikimi-chan," said Yukimura, gently prying the girl's smaller hands off his. "I'll watch you, but I can't promise I'm going in." Mikimi, feeling satisfied with the response, ran back to the group of children as they headed toward the pond.

Slowly getting up off of the small bench he resided, Yukimura proceeded to follow the younger children. Looking at his feet while he walked, he kept prodding the idea that his dreams were predicting what was yet to come. That he could be a dream seer.

"Nonsense," he murmured quietly to himself. His dreams were just dreams. The things he saw in his dreams were just fears of his, yes, that's right. They were probably just fears of his, haunting him as he slept. There was nothing wrong with him; he was strong. He had to be strong. For the sake of everyone around him, who had gone through harsh situations, as he had. Weakness is what led to the death of his parents, his family, his life as he knew it. But now, he had a new life, one where he had to protect the ones who he cared about the most.

Yukimura had only been with the small day care group for about two weeks, but he had already bonded with all of them. Now, they were his family; his new family that he would be spending most of his life with.

Even as he recalled all the good the children had done for him, he still wondered about his dreams. Why did he dream of eerily quiet fields? Of blackness enveloping him whole? Why did he have dreams about him drowning? Invoulentarily, he felt his hand reach down to grab his ankle when he thought about the ending of his dream. Paranoid. He was paranoid. No one was going to grab him and pull him under the water like in his dream. It was just stupid to think about. Straightening up, he made his way to the pond where all of his family resounded. Mikimi-chan was playing with Kaitei-kun under the miniature waterfall at the far end of the pond. Tarouchi-kun was planning a water fight with Rei-chan, Keisa-chan, Yuusho-kun, and Oyasu-kun. Usimou-kun was silently reading a novel on the rocks in from of the waterfall, watching all of his friends' merriment.

Creeping silently along the path to the pond, he looked at his prey and…

"AHHHH!! YUKIMURA-NII!!" screeched Usimou as he stood up swiftly, dropping his book onto the rocks and almost slipping off the rock he was precariously perched on. Yukimura giggled, mussing up Usimou's hair as he flopped down beside him.

"Did big bad Yukimura scare cute little Usimou?" said Yukimura in a mocking tone to his kouhai.

"Yukimura…" mumbled Usimou, blushing at the word 'cute'. Taking deep breaths, he regained composure of himself and stated that he 'wasn't scared of Yukimura squeezing his shoulders, but startled at his action' causing Yukimura to only chuckle lightly to Usimou's annoyance. Yukimura let out a satisfied sigh as he lay down on the flat rock, Usimou's form blocking the sun that beat down on everyone, gazing at his family one more time before falling asleep.

_Sanada POV…_

Sanada sat still as a statue as his grandfather and father conversed quietly, still waiting for a few more people to trickle in to hear the announcements. He was very grateful that he wasn't late for this important meeting; his father would have his head if he was. Sanada was awoken from his thoughts when a sharp stomp of a cane rang through the large room. Everyone had been accounted for, and the meeting was about to begin. With a deep breath, the eldest Sanada began his speech.

"As you all know, Rikaidai is in a bloody war with Hyotei. Currently, we are loosing this war due to lack of warriors fighting in it. Hyotei has numerous fighting for their side, making it harder and harder for the Rikaidai warriors to hold up to them. We are vastly out numbered, but we still have something they don't have; pride. We carry the pride of the almighty Rikaidai upon our shoulders. Our alliance, Seigaku, is willing to aid us in this fight, but was delayed to coming to our kingdom for reasons unknown. Even so, I have faith that we shall prevail in this war, but everyone must stay strong.

"This brings me to say, as head of the Rikaidai kingdom and as leader of the highest noble family in this land, that we shall send our best warriors from our glorious household to defend it. I wish that thirty from our dignified troop of fighters that protect our home to aid our comrades in the thick of battle.

"I have also decided to leave my power with my son, Geneciro, as I leave to fight in this war also. I believe that my son will take good care of our kingdom whilst I am away. All the remaining inhabitants of our household shall stay and continue as such. I shall leave tomorrow when the sun breaks ablaze into the sky, traveling with our troops.

"Before I end this meeting, I would like to say that I am proud of all the work you have done for the Sanada family. And if I don't return to our luscious land among the living, I would like to grant my son ruler of our fine kingdom. That is all, dismissed."

People streamed out of the room, many murmuring to each other about the information they had just received. Sanada stood up quietly, bowing to his elders, and left the room, following the others out of the room. He was still mulling over the thought of his grandfather dead; it was unimaginable. The person who had taught him most everything, who had always been by his side, watching him grow and struggle until what he is now. The time would come someday, he knew, but until then, he must appreciate while he was among the living.

While thinking to himself, his feet automatically led him to the training room for his daily strengthening exercises. It was his special room where he could forget everything, becoming one with himself and his sword. It gave him peace, tranquility, focus, nourishment, and serenity, working on his skills.

"Become one with the sword, and you shall become a master," Sanada recalled his father saying to him one training session. "One with the sword," he thought to himself as he unsheathed his sword. The sword, sleek and beautiful, shone in the sunlight that streamed in through the windows, showing off its brilliance. It was as if time stopped around him as he pulled himself into his own little world, concentrating on only him and his sword.

_Yukimura POV…_

"Please don't go over there! That's private propterty," called Yukimura while chasing after Rei and Yuusho. They had all finished playing in the pond and were heading back on their way to the orphanage when Yuusho spotted a white rabbit eating a carrot on the side path of the road. Yuusho decided to follow it, causing chaos within the group. He had run through their grouping, splitting the children up. Some of them had fallen down and were trying to see what was going on through the dirt Yuusho had kicked up while others, namely Rei, had followed Yuusho to try to catch the rabbit. It had ended up so that Yukimura, being the oldest, had Usimou watch the other children while he went to fetch Rei and Yuusho.

"Boy are they gonna be in so much trouble when I get my hands on them," thought Yukimura as he chased the younger children onto private land. He clenched his fists in frustration for letting them get onto the land, running faster than he currently was. Once he was about two feet away from them, he jumped into the air and pounced on the younger children, like a tiger to its prey. They squealed loudly as Yukimura hoisted them up, grabbing firmly onto both of their arms.

"How many times have I told you, no running off away from our group?" asked Yukimura, annoyance flickering in his eyes.

"We're sorry, Yukimura-nii," whimpered the children, looking up with sorrowful eyes at their elder.

"Ah, it's alright," said Yukimura, his eyes softening a bit, "Just don't do it again." The children gave him enormous grins and headed back in the direction they came in. Yukimura smiled, quickly dusting himself off before following the children back to the group. Little did he know, a pair of eyes were watching his interaction with Rei and Yuusho, seemingly interested with the blue haired newcomer on his estate...

(1) This is the ranking system they use top grade how strong a fighter you are in the world of Relica (just a random name that I made up to call the world). It goes like this, the letters (M,S,A,B,C,D) are the strength categories that judge how strong you are. The numbers (1,2,3,4,5) show the rank of your strength. So, S1 is the best fighter you could possibly be and D5 is the worst. Hope that made sense.

Well chapter numero two is done! That was really fun to write grins widely. I haven't updated this for a while because I was away and without internet for a while… And now with school, I probably won't be able to update any time soon… Oh well, so how was it? Good, bad, sad, rad? I hope it was enough to get people to continue to read it! Please review!


	3. A Companion?

YES, TWO REVIEWS!! Thank you AkatsukiSinx666 and yukisana for reviewing. Hopefully, there will be more reviews to come.

Title: Hope Within the Hopeless

Rating: T

# of Words: 1,737

**Chapter 3: A Companion?!**

"Ohayo!" chorused the orphanage members as they trickled in one by one into the small cottage they called home. Yukimura walked in behind them, rubbing his temples out of weariness. It had been a long day, thinking about his dreams and making sure the trouble makers of the group weren't getting into mischief. Sighing, he pressed his back against the kitchen wall, slowly allowing himself to slide down into a sitting position. The other children dashed toward the stairs, plodding up them with heavy footsteps.

"Yukimura, how were they?" asked a gentle voice from above him. He gave the young boy a grin and offered his hand out to him. Yukimura took it graciously, lifting his exhausted body up off the ground and onto shaky feet.

"It was fine, Seishirou-dono," replied Yukimura, looking at his superior and caretaker in the eye. Seishirou smiled and ruffled Yukimura's hair playfully, resulting in Yukimura giving him an annoyed look.

"You look exhausted. Did they give you a hard time today?" Yukimura sighed and collapsed into a kitchen chair. Just then, a loud thump was heard from upstairs followed by muffled crying, then, a firm voice calming down the upset child. After listening intently at the ruckuss that was going on upstairs, Seishirou looked back to Yukimura's slumped over form and sighed. It was definitely clear the other children were a lot of work for Yukimura this particular day. Walking back to where he previously stood, he continued to make tea like he had been doing so before.

"…If you want to talk about it, I'm always here," said Seishirou, breaking the veil of silence that had settled over the two.

"I will, Seishirou-dono… Maybe a little bit later." Yukimura let the sweet smells of the tea fill his senses, allowing them to rejuvenate his body and calm his mind. He lowered his head down onto his arms, only to feel heat against his face moments after. After looking up, he rubbed his eyes, straining them open. Seishirou set down a cup of tea for him and sat casually next to the young boy. Yukimura reached out toward the steaming cup, lifting it up and letting the hot liquid soothe his throat.

"Would you be willing to give me a report on how the kids were?" asked Seishirou after watching Yukimura place the cup down on the table. Sighing, Yukimura slouched lower in his chair, glancing back up at his elder. With one long breath, he began his story of the adventure on how he chased Rei and Yuusho onto noble property as well as playing with the other children to occupy their minds.

"… I just hope none of the noble's saw me… I mean, I was on their property without permission…" Yukimura hung his head down in shame, a light blush tinting his cheeks as he looked down at his feet sheepishly.

"You didn't mean any harm, and you didn't do anything very wrong. I'm sure they wouldn't be angry with you." Seishirou tilted Yukimura's chin up so that their eyes met, a look of consolidation in their depths. Giving a small smile, Yukimura slowly stood up and retreated up the stairs on the far end of the cottage and toward his bedroom, hoping the other children wouldn't disturb his slumber as well as him not having any more dreams that exhausted him.

_Sanada…_

"Who could that be?" Sanada slashed through a straw post, his strike almost invisible to the human eye. He couldn't get his mind off the boy that had appeared on their estate. At a glance, the boy looked to be about his age, slightly shorter than himself and with two young children at his sides. He seemed to be a gentle soul, but clearly had a lot of control over the younger children he was with. At one remark, the younger children whipped back into shape, their poor behavior becoming nonexistent. And that was some tackle he made. It wasn't hard enough to hurt the children, but was only hard enough to secure them so they wouldn't move around. The elder boy had taken quite a leap to reach those children, too.

"Since when do I think about such unimportant things," thought Sanada as he sidestepped, moving slightly to his right before whirling around and splitting another straw post with amazing accuracy. "They're probably some poor commoners who I'll never meet. Why am I so interested in them?"

Step left, thrust. Jump, slide back, slice. Dodge left, fake right, slash. No matter how hard he practiced, thoughts of the mysterious boy still plagued his mind. He still wondered, who was he? Why had he never seen him before? Where are they from? Would they ever meet again? Questions clouded his thoughts, beginning to make him unfocused, his movements becoming more and more off by the second. After an hour of sloppy practice, getting worse every second, Sanada decided to stop and contemplate his muddled mind. Taking a towel from out of the cabinet, he casually slung the soft material around his neck and headed off to the bath house to take a quick rinse, running into one of the servants on the way.

"Sanada-sama, your presence is requested by your father. He awaits you in his sleeping quarters." The servant bowed in front of Sanada, head tucked into her chest, waiting for a response.

"Tell my father I will be there in a moment," was Sanada's gruff reply, still confused about why he was thinking about the boy from this morning. The servant stood up slowly, bowing once more for good measures before scurrying out of the practice room and back toward the elder Sanada's room. Letting out a deep breath, Sanada released tension he didn't know existed from his body and walked toward the bath house.

Upon arriving at the bath house, Sanada found a pile of towels and a fresh set of robes for him to wear after bathing. The bath house had always seemed to help him clear his head for some reason. Just being in its steamy enclosure was comforting to him. Maybe it was because his mother had always given him baths after a long day of sword fighting, helping ease his sore body into the steamy depths. Life was so peaceful when she was alive, but now, he could never feel at ease with the war going on, and she wasn't around to console him anymore. The war was eating up all of their best fighters, and someday soon, he would have to fight to protect his homeland like she did, too (1).

Sanada slipped out of his robes, letting them fall into a surprisingly neat pile on the ground and into the steaming water before him. The water caressed his skin, massaging and cleansing the various pores in his body. Sanada slid deeper into the warm water, letting a calming tingling sensation invade his body. Peering into the crystal clear water, he saw small bubbles and miniature whirlpools flouncing around at his every breath and every movement. A loud knocking interrupted his relaxed composure, rapping harshly on the wooden door of the bath house. Sanada dragged his limp body out of the water, shrugging his shoulders back and hoisting the lower half of his body back out into the chillier air.

"Sanada, please be ready by the next quarter of an hour for your meeting." With that, the voice disappeared, the sounds evaporating into the steam filled air.

Even after the bath, his mind felt more cluttered than it normally did. Still, thoughts of that boy plagued his mind, muddling all other thoughts like the swirling bubbles and whirlpools in his bath.

"Mother, if you were here, what would you say?" asked Sanada to the open air, his voice echoing off the hollow walls. Suddenly, a gust of cool air wrapped its tendrils around Sanada's body, causing him to shiver from the unexpected coolness. It was as though is mother was communicating with him, trying to tell him something through the air. This hadn't been the first time this had happened; Sanada often noticed weird occurrences when he spoke of his mother. Every time, he felt as though she was trying to tell him something, something very important.

"Only time will tell before I can figure out what you are trying to tell me," said Sanada, waving his hand delicately into the air as if to find the source of the wind that blew upon him. After taking a few steps, he found the snowy white towels and wrapped one around his waist, the other, lay unceremoniously over his shoulders. Swiftly, he made his way to his room, dressing himself in proper attire and advanced to the room of his father.

"Genichiro, I believe it is time to find you a companion." Sanada's jaw threatened to drop into the floor at this statement. His father looked back at him with cold, steely eyes. Sanada could tell that he was being completely serious; this was no joke.

Sanada's eyes darkened; him with a companion? Huh, please! He could do without a companion; he had all that he needed with him right now. His sword, his family… well a part of his family, and his country. Companionship was unnecessary in this world. That was his motto that he had always lived by ever since he was a young child. Friendship hindered you from achieving your best. He had never really wished for someone to be alongside him; it broke all that he believed. But he could never say no to his father, and he could not ever imagine questioning his judgment. He knew best, and whatever he said always seemed to work out in the end.

"Yes father." Sanada bowed deeply, stepping backward out the door carefully. Just as he was about to exit the room, his father's voice echoed the space once more.

'I have already sent out messengers to scout out a good companion for you, if that's what you're wondering. You shall meet them when they come, and you will include them in your studies. Even though you may hate me right now, I know what's best for you. Trust me; this will do you greatly in the long run. Now, get some rest. The night has broken." Geneciro's expression softened a little, as if happy to have said what he did. Sanada left the room wordlessly, retreating back to the comfort of his room, wondering what the next day would bring.

(1) Important fact! Sanada's mother was killed while aiding Sanada's father on the battle field when Sanada was six. She was a nurse/healer and tended the wounded. The day she died was ten days before the couple's first anivarsery. This will come up later in the story.

Another chapter done! This one was a little shorter that I would have liked; I'm planning on making them longer normally. It was really hard to write because it was kind of boring (please don't have me for it and continue to read it) but it will get better. I promise to try my hardest to get people to like it more! Continue to read and review, and tell people about this story! Oh, and I might not be able to get to this story for a while… I've been getting a lot of homework lately but that didn't stop me from writing this chapter!


	4. Questions Left Unanswered

I'm so happy people are still reviewing! AkatsukiSinx666 and yukisana are awesome and are so supportive of me, it brings tears to my eyes –wipes off tears from face-. Well, this chapter is definitely one I've been really excited to write about. I'm going off to a farm with my class tomorrow, so I won't be able to update in a while, but I hope this chapter is good! Read and review!

Title: Hope Within the Hopeless

Rating: T

# of Words: 2,103

**Chapter 4: Questions Left Unanswered**

_Crying… Endless crying… Why won't it stop? Yukimura opened his eyes, only to find himself floating in the air, as if a magical being. Startled, he panicked, flailing his arms and legs out wildly, trying in vain to grab onto something firm, something with structure. He was in pitch blackness, the same familiar blackness, unable to latch onto anything. After taking a few deep breaths, his heart stopped racing, enough so that he could think semi clearly. He had been here before, but he couldn't quite place the time… As if interrupting that thought, he was suddenly dropped roughly onto a dirt floor, the blackness fading from around him._

_Standing up slowly, sharp eyes flickered back and forth, analyzing the area around him. There didn't seem to be any danger around; that was a good thing. It appeared to him that he had been placed in a large road, wide enough to fit twenty or so full grown men walking side by side. There wasn't much grass alongside the road, only tufts of green every here and there. The road was eerily quiet, a couple of trees looming overhead ominously. Yukimura was definitely suspicious; this place didn't seem quite right to him at all. No animals inhabited the area, not a living creature for miles around. Taking a deep whiff of the air, Yukimura was surprised to find the smell of blood and smoke wafting in the air, smothering all smells of nature until all you could breathe was ash. Turning around, he spotted a fire, the wood burned black as charcoal. Clearly, someone had been here previously. Leading away from the fire were tiny drops of blood, splattering the ground as if someone had flicked a paintbrush across a canvas of muddy water, staining some areas a vibrant red. Then, the sound of crying rang out like the moan of a lone coyote, strong and haunting over the barren pathway. _

_Yukimura shook his head, making sure the crying was real and not his imagination. Moments after, the crying continued, growing louder and louder with every breath he took. Inhaling sharply, Yukimura straightened his body, his hands clenching into tight fists. This was all a dream. It must be some illusion. Nothing was real. It had to be a dream. The louder the crying became, the more Yukimura lost his focus. He needed to snap out of this dream. Just then, he heard the sound of a shot being fired; the crying stopped completely. Head snapping up, Yukimura glanced out toward the horizon, eyes frantic with terror at what he saw. _

_Before him, an army of at least two thousand men or more appeared, their figures coming closer and closer toward the point at which he stood. Another shot rang out across the land. Swirling around, Yukimura's head whipped back, seeing an almost identical army approaching where he stood. _

_Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. The rhythmic pounding of their feet on the dirt pathway pulsed in his ears, making it hard for him to hear straight. From the rigid posture of the soldiers, he could tell they weren't here to mess around; they meant business. And that business was definitely serious. His breath quickening, his muscles tensed and released, adrenaline rushing through his veins and arteries. He willed his body to move, but it seemed as though his feet were rooted to the ground, unable to lift a single one off the hard ground. _

_As the soldiers advanced, Yukimura could sense something big was going to happen. "Move, I need to move," he whispered to himself, pleading for his body to move. His body refused to listen, still as a statue, feet cemented into the ground. A moment later, he could hear the labored breathing of the soldiers from both sides. A war cry shattered the eternal pounding of feet, a stampede of soldiers charging at each other. And all Yukimura could do was watch, his death almost indefinite._

"Yukimura, wake up!" Yukimura shot straight up, looking wildly around him. He was at home, in his bed; everything was fine.

"Where… where am I?" Glancing around, he found eight bodies surrounding his bed, all looking worriedly at their leader with anxious expressions.

"We heard you murmuring something like 'crying... why won't it stop…' while you were sleeping and got worried you were having a bad dream," said Mikimi, her eyes flickering back and forth nervously.

"I'm fine, it was just as bad dream," said Yukimura, shaking his head furiously back and forth as if to rid his mind of the frightening dream he had just experienced. All the children around him smiled, giving each other reassured looks.

"Oh, and you're late for breakfast preperations," commented Kaitei in a mocking tone, before spinning around, heading toward the stairs. All of the children filed out of the bedroom after him, feet pounding the stairs as they trampled down to greet Seishirou. After making sure all the children had left, Yukimura collapsed back onto his bed, clutching his face in his hands. This dream had been a little less scary as the one he had the previous night, but it was still concerning.

Yukimura wanted desperately to tell someone, but he didn't want to trouble anyone with his worries. He definitely couldn't tell Seishirou-dono; he was too busy taking care of all of them already, it would be too much for him to handle if he had the additional information that one of his children was having dreams. All of the children were too young to bear the burden of his dreams too; their innocence shouldn't be broken so young. Letting his body shake, Yukimura picked his hands off of his face and placed his feet on the floor. Once feeling able to stand without faltering, he put his weight onto his feet and made his way over to the stairs, gingerly making his way down to where all the other children were.

As he approached the bottom of the steps, he could already hear the sounds of Seishirou making breakfast for all for them, the clatter of plates and bowls being placed and moved around. When he first stepped down to the Kaitei and Yuusho were helping set the table while Seishirou, Rei, Keisa and Oyasu made breakfast. Mikimi and Usimou were boiling water and rinsing food. A couple minutes after Yukimura arrived in the kitchen, Keisa placed their breakfast on the table in huge bowls. Today it was rice and lots of veggies they all grew together in the garden behind their house. Everyone sat down at their places, Seishirou at the head, and Yukimura at the foot. All the other children sat down according to oldest to youngest, making sure they put napkins on their laps like Seishirou had taught them to do.

"Everyone, thank you for working so hard on our morning meal," announced Seishirou, his smile infectious. Everyone grinned back at him, the children brimming with pride at the meal they all made together with exception to Yukimura who had slept in a little late. "You may eat after giving thanks." All the table members bowed their heads into their chests, giving silent thanks to Kami for giving them the food they needed to live off of. After the moment of silence, everyone dug into their tasty meal.

Sounds of children happily chewing, gobbling, and swallowing food warmed the small kitchen. Occasionally, the children would chatter about things that had happened to them recently, such as when Oyasu accidently spilled his sakura juice all over Mikimi and they both had to clean it up, or when Keisa, Rei and Kaitei drew pictures of animals in the dirt of their backyard when they were supposed to be working. Laughter somehow always filled the table, cheery smiles always appearing on each one of the family member's faces.

Even thought Yukimura wasn't in the most pleasant mood, he smiled as Usimou described to him that while observing the growth of the butterfly he had been raising, Yuusho had tackled him from behind, causing him to fall flat on his face. That was something he could definitely picture as funny; Usimou almost never fell over, and the thought of him falling on his face with a young child clinging to him like a sloth, it was too much. But then again, he could never show the children that he was unhappy sometimes. They deserved the best, and he had to remain the pillar, the one who would never crumble. He would always be there for his family, caring for them, there to make them smile, even if it meant faking a couple of smiles here and there.

After everyone had finished breakfast, they all cleaned up, half the children doing the dishes, the other half cleaning up the table and straightening out the table and chairs. Yukimura calmly rinsed the dishes little Kaitei passed to him, then giving them over to Seishirou who dried them with a worn down rag. His mind still pondered on his latest dream, but was disturbed by the loud knocking on the cottage door. Everyone halted in their mechanical like work, until Seishirou broke the silence seconds later.

"Everyone continue to work, I'll answer the door." Flashing a smile, he swiftly turned his head and opened the door, disappearing behind it.

"Back to work, no more dilly-dallying guys," said Yukimura in a fake cheerful voice.

"We have to get to our studies soon, and the faster clean, the faster we can learn, meaning the more play time we get!" All the children squealed in unison, returning to their jobs, working three times more efficiently than before. Yukimura grinned at their machine like performance; they really went at it when they wanted to. While everyone was distracted with their work, Yukimura slyly crept over to the door of the cottage, putting his ear up against the wood. He could faintly hear three voices, Seishirou-dono's and two other men's.

"What could they be talking about?" thought Yukimura, pressing his ear harder into the door. "Seishirou-dono doesn't get many visitors very often." Listening even more carefully, he could faintly make out a small part of the conversation.

"Are you the one they call Seishirou?" A man with a low, gruff voice grunted out.

"I am. Why may you be looking for me?"

"We are here on a mission sent by second in command Sanada Geniciro-sama to retrieve the boy called 'Yukimura'. Does he happen to reside in this living compartment?" the other man added.

"What would you want to do with a young boy such as him?"

"This information was not disclosed to us."

"I do not feel comfortable giving you another human being without knowing the circumstance for this occasion," said Seishirou in a low tone, his voice strong and firm.

"This is an unacceptable answer, the boy must come with us."

"What if he doesn't want to?"

"There is no choice, and you know this. Step aside, commoner."

To his surprise, Yukimura heard Seishirou's feet leave the vicinity of the doorway, as if stepping away from the door to allow the people in… No! Seishirou-dono wouldn't let those men take him away! He was his guardian, his caretaker. He lived only with Seishirou-dono and the other children. The sound of the click of the door shocked him as he was thrown away from the door as it swung open. Falling backward, all the other children looked up, seeing their eldest member not helping the cleaning process. Two large men came into the doorway, Seishirou standing of to the side a few feet behind them, looking solemn. Before he could blink, Yukimura was swept into the strong grip of the two men and yanked to his feet. Flinching at the tightness of the grip, he looked at the hands that were crunching his wrists. Then, he was dragged out of the cottage, bare heels scraping the ground as they walked.

The sound of a door closing snapped Yukimura out of his daze, drawing him to the attention of none other than Seishirou, looking back at him with a sense of despair in his eyes. Panic began to seize him, causing him to thrash about in the grips of his captors. Unable to speak, he pulled and writhed, kicking and twisting to get away from their brutal grasp. Despite his efforts, all hope was in vain. He couldn't break free. Taking one last look at his beloved father figure, he let his body go limp, all strength drained from his efforts. Then, he felt something being pressed over his mouth and nose, blocking off all oxygen and allowing him to breathe in... some kind of gas... It was beginnng to make him drowsey, his vision starting to blur. Before completely blacking out, he could faintly make out words forming on Seishirou's lips…

"Yukimura…Gomen ne…"

Yes, done! I'm on a deadline, so this chapter might be revamped after I go to Farm School. Well, what do you think? I think it was only okay, the beginning of this chapter was really boring and uneventful… But then, I left you on a cliff hanger!! The suspense… What will happen next?! I bet you have a lot of questions, so just PM me and I'll get back to you ASAP... Well, please continue to read and review this story!


	5. Noble Discovery

It felt so good to write again! Farm School was over a while ago, but I haven't written this story in SOOO LOONNNGGG! Agh, so much school work... Well, enjoy, and sorry for the long delay!

Title: Hope Within the Hopeless

Rating: T

# of Words: 1,578

**Chapter 5: Noble Discovery**

When Yukimura opened his eyes, all he could see was darkness. Sitting up slowly, he looked around, trying to figure out where exactly he was. It seemed he now rested upon a soft comforter made of thick bird feathers of some kind, with pillows propped up behind him. A heavy blanket made of satin covered the lower half of his body, keeping him warm. Something about where was confused him, and broken memories of the previous day drifted into his consciousness, reminding him of… Well, of something. All he could remember was being pulled away from his home and then… Nothing. That's where his memory failed him.

Hearing the pitter-patter of footsteps approaching his location, he immediately slumped back down onto the bed, resuming the position he had been originally in. Closing his eyes, Yukimura pretended to sleep as he felt the presence of someone stop near his bed. Then, the blackness that was round him seemed to dissipate, the dark coloring being replaced with some sense of faint light. He heard the shuffling of someone's feet, as if placating the reasoning for being by the bedside.

Moments later, a weight tilted the bed at a small angle, as is someone was sitting upon the mattress next to him. Judging by the actions of the person, he could tell that they weren't there to hurt him; if they did, then they would have not set up these accommodations for him. Through closed eye, Yukimura could definitely sense the presence of someone near him, watching him 'sleep'. The thought somewhat disturbed him; he didn't really like being watched in such a way… It was somewhat violating personal space. He felt the gaze of the stranger linger on him, as if analyzing his prone form. Right about when he was sure he would burst with anxiousness, he felt the weight shift once more, leaving the bed flat as it was when he first awoke. The light from somewhere faded, the sound of a curtain of some sort falling and blocking the light.

Once sure that the stranger had left, he sat up slowly, making sure he didn't make too much noise. Seizing the covers in his hands, he flung the covers off his body and slid out of the bed. The curtains that ran above the bed was drawn aside with one swift motion of his hand, his legs swinging down from the mattress so his feet could reach the ground. Once the curtain was out of the way, he looked out of the confines of the bed, only to be met by another child.

The child was a boy of around his age, wearing imperial robes as well as gruff expressions upon a hardened face. The two boys stared back at one another, a deep fire in one pair of eyes, confusion in the other. Then, the boy of noble decent spoke, breaking the silence that had come over them.

"You weren't predicted to wake until tomorrow evening. What a surprise." The boy spoke with a gruff, yet strong, steady voice, the vibrations echoing off the walls of the sleeping quarters.

"Well, you're not going to just ramble off without telling me why I'm here," replied the other boy.

"That is what my adviser is for." With that, the noble child left the room, leaving one confused Yukimura to evaluate the little information he was given.

It was true, Yukimura was deeply confused, his reason for being here completely unclear. This unsettled him; what happened now? He couldn't imagine anything that bad that could happen to him, but there was… No, that wouldn't happen. He had heard many stories of the nobles being stuck up snobs who didn't care much for commoners like him, but nothing bad ever happened. Except for them drafting people randomly for the cause of war.

They didn't seem to care how many people they lost in battle, or that's at least how Yukimura felt about them; all they wanted was to keep their land free. As long as they had people working for them, they were safe. They could draft any amount of people at a time, leaving many families incomplete. Almost all of the children of the orphanage had at least one parent drafted to fight in one of the wars between kingdoms. It always pained him to picture the innocent orphanage children, his family, watching their parents leave or even worse, not being there when they left. If anything bad happened to his family, there would be hell to pay. His musings about life were interrupted abruptly, when he heard the click of a door, and footsteps heading toward the bed he lay upon.

Looking up, Yukimura saw yet another boy of his age. This boy looked more serene and welcoming than that noble boy who watched him before, but he wore almost identical clothing as the other noble. His eyes were drawn shut in a relaxed manner, yet his posture was immaculate. Feeling slightly spooked by the closed eyes that seemed to see right through him, he remained on the bed, still and unmoving. The other boy took a few steps forward, stopping a few feet in front of Yukimura.

Apprehensively, Yukimura closed his eyes, preparing himself for the worst, whether it be mental or physical. What he didn't expect to happen was for the boy to _bow_ to him. Startled, his eyes flickered to look at the other child, making sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. True as daylight, the boy was bowing to him, as if saying that they were equals. "Equals," thought Yukimura, before bowing skittishly back.

"Greetings, my name is Yanagi Renji. I am the adviser of Sanada Genechiro, the boy you met prior to my visit. I am here to answer any questions you may have. I am assuming you have many questions to ask me, but I request that you control your emotions and keep calm throughout all of my answers." Even after hearing the small speech, Yukimura still stared at Renji, dumbfounded at why this person of high power was paying any respect toward him. It was just plain weird; nobles weren't supposed to be so caring toward unruly commoners. After staring at Renji for some time, Yukimura decided to break the silence and start asking questions.

"Well, all I really want to know is why am I here? I was dragged off to some noble's house without any warning, then knocked unconscious. Want to explain why that happened?" Yukimura's voice echoed in the spacious room, the sound traveling from his body full of contempt and scorn. It was hard for him to keep tone out of his voice when he felt so angry and confused.

"To answer your question in full would take a little while, but I'll give you the shorter version. Sanada Geniharu, Sanada Genechiro's grandfather, went off to lead our troops to fight off the Hyotei warriors from conquering our land. Geniharu-dono left his son and Sanada's father, Sanada Geneciro, in charge of the household and kingdom while he was gone. Because Geniciro-sama is in charge now, he requested he had someone be Sanada's companion if times beco-"

"Now just wait one second," said Yukimura abruptly, cutting off Renji's monotonous voice.

"Let me get this straight. If my interpretation skills are accurate, you're saying that I'm that boy's companion? You've _got_ to be kidding me! He already dislikes me, and I'm not too happy about being dragged away from my home to be hated by some nobleman's child, even if they are the son of the ruler of our country," erupted Yukimura. He could feel his breathing becoming more ragged, adrenaline pumping through out his body from the rage building up inside.

"Remember before, I told you to control yourself or else we're going to have to restrain you for this talk," continued Renji, continuing on from where he was cut off before. Knowing he was fighting a losing battle, Yukimura stopped himself, and tried to hold the shouts and remarks that threatened to explode from him. Even though He knew everything that happened wasn't Renji's fault, it was hard not to want to yell at the boy picturing his dilemma. The aura Renji gave off didn't hold the sense that he would have arranged this, so Yukimura tried the best he could to contain his emotions.

By now, Renji had sat down beside the other boy, rubbing his back in small circular motions as if to ease the shuddering form. Yukimura seemed didn't resist the other boy's consideration, letting him help him ease the tension out of his being. Even though this action was chipping at his pride, he decided he could trust this person. Something about him seemed like he could be a good friend, even though he barley knew him. After a short period of time, Yukimura got his body under control, just trembling every now and again.

"You know, I know it's hard to comprehend, being taken away from you're family and all. I know exactly how you feel. Something along the lines of your situation happened to me. But promise me, you'll go along with what I say and do as I tell you. Cooperation is key right now," said Renji. He gave Yukimura a small smile, putting his hands over one of Yukimura's as if making a pact with him.

"Okay, I'll do as you say for now." Yukimura grasped Renji's hands, and they both shook them downward, finalizing the pact. "But first, _you_ have to tell me the story of how you got here."

Sorry for such a long delay! This took a little while to write, and because of all the tests the teacher's decided to give us in a week, I haven't been able to write more. Well, as always, read and review! Always open for constructive criticism! Oh, and any questions, PM me!


	6. Renji and Revelations

Oh my goodness, I am such a bad person! I bet I'm making you all mad for not being consistent with updates. I'm mad at myself for not updating stories more frequently, but I plan to try to. I've been fitting the chapter per month guide pretty much, but I'll try to do better. Now, this chapter may bore you, but it's kind of important to know the facts, right? On with the story! Oh, and before I forget, THANK YOU SO MUCH YUKISANA FOR ALL THE SUPPORT YOU GIVE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Title: Hope Within the Hopeless

Rating: T

# of Words: 1,671

*Important fact – Yanagi is an only child. This may clear up confusion in this chapter.

**Chapter 6: Renji and Revelations**

"Where should I begin," said Yanagi aloud, his monotone voice once again settling over the room. Yanagi shot a glance at Yukimura who just looked at him with eyes cold as icy daggers, now feeling mortified that he had opened up to such a complete stranger before.

"Begin wherever you please, but I would prefer you begin sooner rather than later," said Yukimura coolly.

"Very well, I shall begin from the very beginning. For many generations, the Renji and Sanada family have been very close. From as far back as I can remember, our families had an extremely strong bond with each other. Even though my family is not of noble decent, our closeness was inseparable. Each member of each family knew every single person belonging to both families. The reason for our families' closeness is my ancestor from many years back helped the ancestor of the boy you met prior to our meeting, Sanada Genechiro, in a battle over the boundaries of Rikaidai. Ever since that moment, our families were inseparable.

"Now, this could be seen as both a good thing, and a bad thing. From anyone's point of view, they would see that the Renji family would be treated with more care than most families of middle class. We would be invited to the Sanada household to dine with the noble family once every week, we would often get large sums of money from them one special occasions and so on. The number of advantages we had to the normal civilian was extraordinary. Now, many people did resent this as you may have already assumed, but they still accepted the fact because the Sanada nobles were in fact quite kind to the commoners, giving them money and free food occasionally. They believe that if you treat your people right, they will do the same for you.

"No one actually saw the relationship as a bad relationship. Everyone except me believed my family fortunate enough to be close to the Sanada household. All my friends turned green with envy when I had to cut a meeting with them because I had to visit the Sanada household. The problem with our families' closeness was that I was forced to befriend Genechiro-san.

"From what I witnessed before, you weren't too fond of him. I felt quite the same back then. Getting along with him was dire; my grandfather told me that it was a must for if I didn't, our relationship with the family would crumble. Even though I did not like to admit it, we were quite dependent on the Sanada family as were they on us. If our connection were severed, then something extreme would result. So, I tried. It was painful how hard I tried to please him.

"We went to the same school, so I tried to spend as much time with Genechiro-san as possible. I sat with him (or at least tried) at every meal in school, talked to him between classes, and aided him whenever I saw it necessary, among other things. I am not the least sociable person in the world, but trying to get along with someone as cold as him was challenging. It was blatantly obvious he didn't want to be friends, but I persisted anyway.

"Eventually, he seemed to understand that he was being forced into this 'friendship' and started begrudgingly accepting me into his world. This made it a lot easier our families, the tensions between Sanada and I died down. Now they didn't have to worry about the strength of the bond our families shared."

Yanagi glanced back at Yukimura, curious if he was still following along with his story. The other boy was relaxed against the downy pillows behind him, seemingly uninterested with what had happened so far.

"He's hard to entertain," thought Renji, inwardly smirking. "Wonder if the next parts will get through to him."

"Then, that day happened. It began like any normal day would, me awakening to light flittering through the large window over my bed. Everyone was already out in the fields, working away in the hot sun. I pulled myself out of bed and happened to run into my father, holding a grocery list in his hand. He told me to go and fetch the food for lunch and dinner, and afterward, to take some of the leftovers from breakfast for myself. I obliged, slipping on my geta (1) and taking our food basket from the front corridor before heading out to the market.

"The market was surprisingly not as bustling as it normally was on the weekends, only a few people shopping for goods. I went to all of the usual vendors, getting only what was on the list. Some were even generous enough to give us larger portions because of how miniscule the amount of people was in the market.

"As I was heading home, I pondered the fact at how strange it was for there to be practically no one in the market on its busiest day. Peculiar. I thought the most logical reason for no people to be in the market was that they were busy working on the water well for our community on the far side of town. Upon arriving home, I found no one was in the fields, or in the house. Dropping off all of the food in the kitchen compound, I found two men standing in the doorway. They were wearing clothing with the Sanada emblem on, so I paid them no mind.

"I thought they were looking for my family, so I told them they were probably out on business somewhere, but would be back in time for dinner. The men seemed uninterested, then suddenly advanced forward until their hands held my arms in their clutches. I was confused at why they would do such a thing to me, and tried to escape their grasp. Their grip was too firm for me to wriggle out of though, and I was dragged outside. My voice was caught in my throat; no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't scream for help. For all times for my body to betray me it had to be then I guess.

"Then they pressed something to my mouth; a knock out gas of some kind. I was out cold before I could register anything, but before that, I could faintly make out someone looking at me, watching me leave. I still don't know exactly who that person was even after all this time."

An eerie silence settled over the room, no a thing making a sound. This time, when Yanagi turned toward Yukimura, he saw the other boy's face had gone completely white, his hands clenched together into tight fists. If he didn't know better, he could also see that Yukimura's eyes were slightly glassy, maybe tears being held back? Renji wondered how close his experience really was compared to Yukimura's.

"Well, what do you think of me now?" Yanagi stared at Yukimura hard, as if trying to burn an answer out of the other with his closed eyes.

"Is this a question I must respond to," retorted Yukimura, his voice quivering slightly in places. "If not, I shall decline. I am not in the mood to speak. Please leave." With that, Yukimura turned away defiantly, his body stiffening considerably. Figuring Yukimura had heard enough today, he got up off the bed and started toward the door. Right before exiting, he stopped and turned back to Yukimura.

"Before you rest, you must know this: Sanada Genechiro isn't a bad person. Keep this with you, and remember it when times are hard." Footsteps resounded off the walls, growing fainter and fainter the further Yanagi disappeared into the Sanada complex. When Yukimura was sure there was no one around, he slumped down into the bed, exhausted.

That other boy's story… He had definitely gone through a lot. It wasn't exactly the same as what he had been through, but his life wasn't what you would call easy peasy either. He was torn away from his family by people who were considered allies. Now that was something definitely hard to face. Having people who you thought you knew turn on you is one of those things that are hard to get over, let alone live with it. Yukimura slid under the covers of the bed, curling up into a tight ball. The world was so cruel sometimes. But at least, he could kind of trust someone in this place. Letting his eyelids close, he fell into unconsciousness, letting the darkness consume him. Sleep would help him sort his thoughts.

_The floor was wet. It stained his geta, and clothing as he tried to run away from… What was he running away from? Suddenly, his legs gave out from underneath him. He fell, tumbling down stairs and crashing into something. Something cool, and filled with a sticky liquid. Now he could feel he was completely covered in this liquid, it staining the clothing red. Red? Was this liquid… Blood? _

_Screaming, he tore down the hallway that happened to appear in front of him. His footsteps stained the white tile beneath him, little droplets of red splattering about every time he moved. He could hear screaming, the moans of dying people everywhere. Limbs of people reached out toward him, grabbing at his ankles and wrists. Dodging the best he could, he jumped and ducked, swinging his legs and arms to avoid the clinging fingers. _

_He could feel something repeatedly tapping his back, as if trying to rip the clothing off his body. Then, the thing latched itself to his back, sending the two tumbling to the floor. Air was being pressed out of his lungs as white hot pain shot up his arm. Something sharp found itself embedded in his right arm, his own blood spilling out of the appendage. This was it, he was going to die. Goodbye world… He let out a gasp, as something came down at him at blinding speed… _

(1) Geta – Wooden sandals.

Oh my goodness, I bet you're excited/freaked out/grossed out/interested/etcetera…. This was really intense to write… And really creepy at the same time! I bet I threw you off with the part at the end. Hopefully, everyone had a good vacation/is having a good vacation and will like this chapter... Well, please read and review!


	7. New Resolve

Ah, it feels so good to continue this story! I'm super sorry for not writing in a while! Actually, "a while" is an understatement... I'll try and update more often, but for now, please enjoy the story.

Title: Hope Within the Hopeless

Rating T

# of Words: 2,098

**Chapter 7: New Resolve**

He awoke with a scream, a light sweat running down his body. Shivering at the thought of the disturbing dream, he sunk further down into the bed to relax himself.

"Only a dream. It was only a dream," he murmured under his breath, exhaling deeply. He was not covered in blood; he was not in that torturous nightmare anymore. Strangely, his right arm hurt… But when he checked it, there was no scar where he was stabbed in his dream. Maybe, just maybe, he was going insane. Or, the more logical reason for his random pains was he slept on his arm wrong. Yes; that had to be it. Of course, that's what happened. And then he slept walked back into bed. Right? But how would that explain that dream back at his house, with the field, the lake, drowning… Sighing, Yukimura closed his eyes, trying to let all the tension in his body melt into the mattress of the bed.

Thankfully, the sounds of footsteps approaching the room he resided in snapped Yukimura back into his senses; now they were focused on hoping, no _praying_ those footsteps would belong to that Yanagi person instead of Sanada. When he opened his eyes, he was grateful to see that it was indeed Yanagi, standing in the doorway of the room.

"May I have permission to enter?" Yukimura gave a curt nod, allowing Yanagi to come over to the bed and sit with him. Tipping Yukimura's head upward so they were looking eye to eye, he gave him a hard look over.

"So, what exactly caused you to scream?"

"Damn it, he heard me scream," thought Yukimura. Pressing his lips into a tight line, he refused to let the words of his dreams spill out, as if afraid they would actually come true if they escaped his mind. Taking the silence as an answer, Yanagi stood up, smoothing out his clothing and gave a hand to Yukimura.

"You must report for morning meal, and I am here to prepare you for it. I have you clothing right here. Please change quickly and meet me outside your room after you are done." Handing Yukimura the elegant robes, he turned and left, exiting the room.

Yukimura was quite astonished at how heavy the clothes were; compared to his own, it was like wearing something made from the inner depths of heaven. Yanagi had given him blue robes with yellow outlining, clearly made of fine silk. He couldn't believe he was actually going to wear such amazing clothing, but he definitely wouldn't give that boy Sanada the pleasure of seeing him happy in these clothes. He made sure to take care in keeping a straight face during the entire meal. Once changed, he met Yanagi outside his room, and both proceeded to the dining hall.

The dining hall was quite enormous, its monstrous size taking up more room than three of Yukimura's old home combined. The sheer size of it was very intimidating, but Yukimura remained firm. He gracefully sat onto the small mat placed next to Sanada, clenching his hands into tight fists under the table. Looking up, he saw Sanada's amber-brown glaring into his own eyes, as if trying to read him.

Yanagi had taken his place across from Sanada, sitting completely calm and collected. At the head of the table sat Sanada Geneciro, his imposing presence sending involuntary shivers down Yukimura's spine. Breathing deeply, he prepared to listen to the long speech the elder Sanada was bound to give. He looked up at the elder, his eyes cold as stones. The elder had an equally as iced over glaze on his face, as well as… Was that sadness he saw?

"My dearest greetings… Yukimura is it? I am Sanada Geneciro, father to Sanada Genechiro and temporary ruler of this kingdom while my father, Sanada Geniharu is off to war." Sanada Geneciro looked over Yukimura, scrutinizing him as if he were some kind of scum. Yukimura remained stiff, his back rigid. So, this was the all-great Sanada Geneciro. He couldn't believe how much Seishirou-dono respected this guy… To him, it didn't seem like there wasn't anything special about him.

He was tall, in stature, and obvious muscles from long days of training stood out underneath his regal clothing. His face, hardened over as if some kind of stone, remained ever impassive. True, he looked strong. But still, it seemed he wasn't the strongest fighter in the country. He was maybe a class A5 - which is still quite strong - but he knew there were leaders capable of fighting stronger people. This is what Yukimura had learned listening to Seishirou-dono talk politics with the other children and himself. Seishirou said he respected this man the most because of his ability to take charge, and make good decisions.

"There is really nothing overly special about this person. He can keep a straight face. That's something he's quite good at. I can see he's definitely not one to be trifled with at my level, though. Also, it seems that there is some kind of heart in this human, for anyone without a heart would not bear that sadness in ones eyes. Maybe I will learn something from these people… But I will never stop resenting them," Yukimura thought silently, while nibbling at the noodles on his plate. Yanagi "accidently" knocked his water glass against his plate, stopping the staring contest between the elder Sanada and Yukimura. Then, he spoke up.

"My lord, I believe that Yukimura hasn't been toured around the house. When do you believe that will happen? I cannot tour the boy, for you wanted me to take inventory of the soldiers. May I request someone will be set aside to make you son's companion feel more at home in your impressive house?" Yanagi glanced down at his meal, picking at the finely toasted pastries on his plate. Yukimura sat up straighter, chewing his food thoughtfully. He really didn't want to tour the house, but it would allow him to better situate himself so he could figure out how to escape…

"I will have Sanada himself tour his new friend, for they will have more of a chance to bond with each other," announced Geneciro, looking at his boy almost fondly. Tension flooded over the table – even some of the food servants stopped their business to listen in on the conversation – and the sounds of utensils scraping plates seized.

The younger Sanada's eyes widened, large as saucers. Then, words tumbled out of his mouth. "Father, what about training? I must complete my studies, and perfect my sword skills – "

"Don't question my words. When I say something, I mean it. It will be good for you. Do as I say." Sanada Geneciro glared at his son, only satisfied once he had shrunken back into his seat. Yukimura could hardly suppress giggles from erupting out of his mouth. His entire body trembled as he pressed his lips together, holding back the laughter. It seemed as though that cold-hearted boy who was to be his "friend" respected his elders, and could be tamed by them. Even one who seemed so strong could be mellowed to be obedient. Yukimura had never seen the boy so frazzled in his entire stay at their place.

"Boys, once you are finished, please make sure to not disturb Yanagi or myself. Sanada, you are to take Yukimura through all of the wings and rooms we have, but avoid going into the meeting room. We will be located in the meeting room, as well as some very important representatives from the kingdom of Rikaidai. Now, Yanagi, please rise." Doing as he was told, Yanagi rose swiftly from his seat, and walked toward the lord. As he passed where Yukimura was sitting, he dropped a slip of paper into his hand. Yukimura gave him a questioning look, but Yanagi already had his back to Yukimura and Sanada. Yukimura stashed the paper in one of the pockets in the coat. Soon after discussing something quietly together, they disappeared into one of the various corridors and vanished from the two young boy's sights.

The meal was finished in complete silence, neither boy willing to speak. After they had both finished, they had both stood up. Breaking the chilling silence, Yukimura stepped around the table and stood next to Sanada.

"So, where will you take me first?" Yukimura forced a smile.

"Hn." Sanada turned away from Yukimura, as if refusing to look at someone so lowly. "Would you like to go to your room first to freshen up? I have some business to attend to, for right now. I will meet you outside your room at noon. You are to stay there until there, understood?" Sanada glared at him, as if challenging him to say something in retort. Yukimura just stood there dumbfounded; he was extremely surprised that Sanada was capable to speak over four words, let alone four sentences. As if taking the silence as an understanding between the two, Sanada left for his own room.

"Well that's just great, bossed around by a stuck up noble my age," muttered Yukimura softly to himself, as he tried to find his way back to his room. "And what does he expect me to do for the next hour and a half? There's nothing to do when you're cooped up in a room, very sparsely furnished!" He threw his hands up in exasperation, while trekking down the hallway to where he believed his room was. It really wasn't easy to find your way around such a large manor. Of course, all the hallways had to look exactly the same, as well as all of the doors leading to each individual room.

Twenty minutes later, Yukimura arrived at his room. Smirking lightly as if proud of himself for finding his wanted destination, Yukimura reached for the doorknob and crept into his room.

His room. It felt so weird thinking like that. No, this wasn't his room. His family would find him again… Aw, who was he kidding, thinking like that. Yanagi was taken from his family, and he's never left the Sanada family's home ever since that fateful abduction day. Plopping onto his bed, Yukimura pulled the covers over his slim frame and stared out the window that was located conveniently on the far wall to the room.

Pressing his lips together, Yukimura hoped with all his heart that his family was safe, even though they practically hand him over to those guards. Those kids didn't know any better; but Seishirou… He could have done something. Even still, he couldn't hate that man. Seishirou-dono was his idol, his father. He took him in when death took the lives of his parents. And also, Seishirou never did anything without a purpose. Just, what was this purpose, giving him away?

Was it fate? Was that why he was here? What was he supposed to accomplish being here, with that Sanada boy? Even though he disliked Sanada, maybe he was here to change him… Everyone deserves a second chance. He, himself, wouldn't be alive if he hadn't gotten a second chance. After his parents died, he wished himself, that he could join them. They could be a happy family again, together for all eternity. But Seishirou discouraged that kind of thinking. Just like his father, he always had hope for Yukimura, despite his situation.

"There's always hope within the hopeless, Yukimura. Remember that." That quote, those words… Yukimura felt tears well up in his eyes as he remembered those final words, spoken by his father. How his father would have loved Seishirou, if he were alive…

Live. He must live. No mater what life throws at him, he will live. Maybe, just maybe, he could learn to understand the life of nobles. Wiping his tears away, a new kind of resolve flowed through Yukimura. Somehow, he would learn to live this new life. For that's what his parents and orphanage family would have wanted. They wanted him to be happy wherever he was. And that's exactly what he was going to try and do.

Well, I bet you guys maybe missed the piece of paper scene where Yanagi gave Yukimura that scrap. It will come into play in one of the later chapters, so pay attention! Okay, now it's time to scold the bad author for not updating in so long. I know, I bet it's a disappointing chapter to add to the lateness, but I wasn't sure how to transition anything without this kind of chapter. It was also kind of all over the place, so I apologize if you hate that kind of writing. If you hated this chapter, please tell me through PMing, or drop me a review and tell me how it was. Thanks everyone!


	8. Encountering Allies

Hello everyone! Hope you guys are still keeping up with my story... And rereading it... And are willing to give me more helpful suggestions so I can complete this story faster... I apologize for not updating very frequently or very fast, but graduation was pretty stressful (all my attention was kind of on it so... you get the picture). Also, I won't be able to access internet because I'm away, so there definitely won't be an update for at least a month... So sorry for those who are enjoying the story and want to read more fast! Well, PM me ideas and whatever and enjoy the story!

Title: Hope Within the Hopeless

Rating: T

# of Words: 2,245

**Chapter 8: Encountering Allies  
**

_Sanada POV..._

"That boy… I'm sure he's the one I saw before. He's the trespasser," thought Sanada to himself. He paced up and down the lengths of his room, deep in thought about that certain boy.

Yukimura was so beautiful, somehow. The way he spoke, the way he moved, the way he looked… Okay, now that was kind of creepy. He didn't like that blunette at all. Having a "companion" was belittling and insulting to his pride; he didn't need someone like Yukimura in his life. But somehow – he couldn't help it – his ideas about the other boy were changing. He didn't like having to have someone tag around with him, to try and make him more social able, but maybe he could learn to like friends.

No, that's ridiculous. It's purely absurd. Friends aren't necessary to function in life. Those were his principles, and he would stick to them. But that boy… What was it about that boy? There was something unique about him. Something that made his body feel weird. It was a strange feeling… Almost an indescribable feeling. Like he was drawn to him by some invisible force.

Sanada just couldn't put his finger on it. Growling in frustration, he collapsed onto his bed, holding his head in his hands. This boy was going to give Sanada countless headaches; that was for sure. But for now, at least, he would attempt to tolerate the other child, while trying to figure out what was going on inside of him as well.

_Yukimura POV..._

"What could that boy possibly have to do for such a long period of time?" thought Yukimura aloud, sitting up on the bed and swinging his legs off the edge. It had only been around an hour, but Yukimura never liked staying in one place for long periods of time. He couldn't stand staying still; and his love of exploring had always allowed him to do the opposite.

Surprisingly, Yukimura wasn't as tired as he usually was after having those dreams. In fact, he was feeling livelier than he had ever before. Maybe it was because of nerves. Or maybe it was because of his decision to remove the weight of resentment off of his heart. It could have also been that being in unfamiliar surroundings set off his want to explore and discover what was in the noble's house. Maybe he would find out more about the Sanada family; maybe that would completely change his opinion of the nobles.

"Well, Sanada's taking too long to get here, and I have about an hour to kill before we're supposed to go anywhere. I guess I might as well…" Yukimura smirked to himself. This could get him in trouble, but he didn't really care. So what if he was caught perusing the halls without a guide? It wasn't like he was a stranger any more. After all, he _was_ the Sanada boy's companion. And if the situation did turn out bad – meaning someone yelled at him for wandering around - he could always say he got lost trying to go to the restroom.

Creeping stealthily out of his room, he walked along the hallway, sure not to disturb any of the other people in their rooms. He was sure he was going to get himself lost inside the house – which would of course, get him into even greater trouble – but at this point in time, he didn't care. That Sanada boy would have to learn to accept him as he is. Yukimura had already promised himself that he would not change himself for this boy, but he would attempt to accept their differences. Maybe it would even help him get closer to the stoic boy… No, scratch that. That was beyond impossible. Sighing, Yukimura continued down the hallway.

While walking, he noticed every hallway was covered in rich ruby red tapestries, laced with gold and silver decorations telling stories of the lands of Rikaidai. Portraits also lay upon the walls, showing prominent figures in Rikkaidai's history. Stopping curtly, his eyes lingered upon one picture in particular a tad longer than the other pictures. In this picture, was what Yukimura believed to be the current generation of the Sanada family.

Intrigued, he stood transfixed at the painting. Relatives flocked along the outsides of the picture; numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and grandparents surrounded three figures in the center. As Yukimura leaned in closer, he saw two people holding a small child. The man strongly resembled the Sanada boy's father, Sanada Geneciro. He faintly recognized the child half in the man's arms as the Sanada boy himself, but the women standing next to the elder Sanada… Who was she? Was she really Sanada boy's mother? And if she is, where is she now?

Questions raced through Yukimura's head, making him feel slightly disoriented. Dizzy, he carefully placed his hand on the portrait as if to brace himself from the oncoming nausea that fought over control of his body. When the world stopped spinning, Yukimura stood up perfectly straight and continued on his way.

The eerie sounds of the floorboards creaking where among the only noises that Yukimura was aware of as he made his way through the halls. Even though peaceful quiet settled over the now tranquil home, Yukimura felt like he was being watched. It was almost like there was some presence following him on his trek though the manor…

Voices echoing further down the hallway snapped Yukimura's unsettling feeling from him, his feet carrying him toward the voices. The hall was dimly lit, but sunlight made it possible to see the door that led into another room.

Passing by what seemed to be some kind of chest, Yukimura sat down as quietly as he could next to the door, hoping that his shadow couldn't be seen from his position. Light shone down through the door's windows, and the outlines of people remained in its wake, like an imprint set in stone. Cautiously, he crouched on his knees and peered into the window, keeping sure he was not visible to anyone in the room.

What he saw was quite captivating to him. Sanada Geneciro sat at the head of a long table, with Renji Yanagi at his right side. On his left side sat someone he was unfamiliar with, but from his blue and white attire, he believed the man was a Seigaku representative from what Seishirou had told him. The man's royal blue robes trailed along the floor, and the simple white lining and belt shone like the moon. He seemed like someone quite important, by the looks of it all. Beside this man, sat a younger version of himself, wearing the exact same robe in a smaller size; the only difference was that this mini him wore glasses. Next to the mini replica, sat another boy. Only this boy didn't look like a replica of the elder man. He seemed to be more delicately built, and had honey-brown colored hair. To Yukimura, the boys looked to be about his own age, maybe a few years older. As he leaned in closer to get a better view of what was going on, he found the elder Seigaku representative was speaking.

"… I am quite worried. For how much longer does Hyotei plan to drag this war on? It has been going on for far too long. Both your glorious kingdom and theirs are beginning to weaken; yet they insist on being relentless. And for what reason? I see the act of cruelty due to ancient family hatred should not conflict with entire countries. Even still, we, Seigaku, are here to help aid you in your time of battle. But first, may I ask you, how has this war come about your home land?" The Seigaku representative took a deep breath, pausing deliberately expecting to receive more input on the other man about the situation. Sanada Geneciro looked at him intently, as if trying to figure out a way to explain the situation. Renji was writing furiously, recording all that was being said at the meeting.

"It is a given I explain our situation. As you know, Hyotei and Rikaidai have had bad relations ever since the first Rikaidai leader had affairs with the fair Hyotei queen. King of Hyotei was angered with his wife and with Rikkaidai's king for cheating on each other, thus he killed both his wife as well as Rikkaidai's leader. As you know, mass chaos and war between the kingdoms ensued thereafter. Therefore, there has always been tension between our lands." Sanada Geneciro looked at the Seigaku representatives, as if to make sure they were following. The elder Seigaku representative nodded, waiting patiently for him to continue. The younger Seigaku representative seemed interested, and attentively watched the elder Sanada, awaiting his further explanation. Taking a deep breath, Sanada Geneciro continued.

"This time, this is not exactly the case. We are at war with Hyotei this time because they are threatening our people and abducting them. Many Rikkai citizens have been taken from us because Hyotei wants to expand their army. Adults, elderly people, young children; Hyotei is quite persistent on diminishing our numbers. As we aren't a very large country, we don't have enough trained soldiers to protect all the civilians." Pausing, he let silence fill the air for a brief moment as if to allow him more time to think the amount of information he was giving Seigaku over.

"And also, they want revenge on us for our attack to reclaim my wife – "

That was all Yukimura could catch of the conversation, before intense pain ran through his skull, causing him to see spots. Gasping, he clutched his head, dropping to the ground. Panting lightly, he closed his eyes, as if to try and regain composure over himself once again. Through the haze that threatened to consume his body, he could somewhat make out the sounds of light thumping sounds… Footsteps maybe? Not good. If he were caught listening in on such an important conversation, he would be punished severely for sure. Shooting upward, he ran blindly a couple of steps to the location of the chest like thing he had seen earlier. Fumbling with the latch, he wrenched off the top, and dropped his body into the miniature chamber.

"Oi, Yagyuu-chan! Don't walk so fast! My poor little legs can't keep!"

"In the name of all that is -!" Yukimura hears sighing from whom he thinks is Yagyuu-chan. "Please refrain from using pet names around me, Niou-kun. And you must hurry, because we are dreadfully late. Sanada-sama will have our heads, and much more if you don't pick up the pace!"

"Whatever! Uptight Sanada is someone we should be used to. He doesn't have to have everything he wants when he wants it." Niou pouts, giving Yagyuu an indignant look before both teens enter the meeting room. Once Yukimura is sure the strangers had left, he warily opened the chest, numb limbs forcing him out of the chest.

"Who were those people? Why are they here? What are they doing with Sanada-sama?" Thoughts raced through Yukimura's head, causing him uncomfortable pounding in his head. Dropping to the ground, he held himself into a tight ball, willing the pain to go away. It felt as though thousands of poisonous needles were being drilled into his head and pounded into it by a crushing boulder. Why does this always happen to him? Panting lightly, he awaited for the peaceful oblivion of unconsciousness to drag him down into its welcoming depths.

"Just take the pain away…"

_Sanada POV... _

"Well, I might as well go and find him," murmured Sanada. It had to have been at least an hour since he had last seen Yukimura. From what Sanada could tell, the boy wasn't very good at staying still… And he didn't have any problem with defying his orders. Fixing his robes, Sanada rose from his bed and hurriedly walked toward Yukimura's room. He wouldn't have… But it is possible he would…

No, he was just thinking this over too much. And what was this... this feeling? Was it a feeling? Maybe a feeling of apprehension? Or was it concern even? It wasn't that he, the great son of Sanada Geneciro, would _care_ about some commoner like Yukimura... But what was that indescribable feeling fluttering in his insides? Walking at a more brisk pace, he tried to shake the feelings away. Moments later, his feet led him to the enterance of Yukimura's room.

Upon arriving at the doorway, he feared the worst. Without trying to acknowledge if anyone was there or not, he brushed through the curtain entrance. Finding no one in the room, Sanada's fears seemed to prove correct.

Yukimura wondered off by himself. Like he was told not to do. Of course.

"Dear Kami-sama, if father finds out I have let the boy wander around our house without any supervision, he will…" Sanada pressed his lips together, looking back and forth around the room. He definitely would find the boy. He had to be somewhere in the house. Just as long as his father couldn't find the boy before him. Everything was going to be fine, right?

And finished! Wheeewww, that was a tiring chapter to write! Well, what does everyone think? People, please review!


	9. Pasts to Present

Hello everyone, I'm back! I'm sorry for the long delay, but I started writing as soon as I came back! Now, on with the show!

Title: Hope Within the Hopeless

Rating: T

# of Words: 2,113

**Chapter 9: Pasts to Present**

_He found himself in a small room. It looked nothing like the Sanada residence where he believed he was last. This room was sparsely furnished, with only the basic necessities for living. A couple of mats lay spread out on the hardwood floor; dirty plates and utensils littered the ground a little ways off. A pile of clothing of various sizes lay by the sleeping mats, as well as the remains of a fire in a fireplace close to the dishes. "What is this place?" wondered Yukimura, as he hovered over the grimy ground. _

_Looking around more, he noticed that also inside the room, four humans stood, hovering in the furthest corner. From what he could tell, it was a family. A young father and mother, and a daughter? Slowly, Yukimura advanced toward the humans. "Why exactly am I here?"_

_All of the humans were surrounding what he thought looked like two chairs pressed together – a makeshift crib perhaps – with a young child asleep inside. Worried and grim faces all stared down upon the sleeping boy. Yukimura wondered; why was everyone so upset? Upon closer inspection, he could tell every member of the family looked extremely malnourished; he could see the bones sticking out in places they shouldn't. The young child looked sickly, trembling and sweating continuously._

"_With the war going on, how shall we keep him if we can barely survive ourselves?" The young girl glanced nervously at the other two family members._

"_Honey, your father and I have been talking…"_

"_Sweetie, we know how much you love your brother. We all love him dearly. But this won't work. We can't keep living like this." The inexperienced couple glanced at each other. "I know you are young, but we believe you can handle what we are about to tell you. To support the family, I am going to participate in the war to bring money to the family. As for the matters of you brother – "_

_The family scene disappeared abruptly, confusing Yukimura and causing him to look around frantically for the room that was once around him. The world swirled around him, black depths spiraling and clinging to his flailing body. No longer was he hovering above the poor family's complex, but plummeting down into the pits of complete unknown. Yukimura could hardly breathe as his world spun wildly around him. When he felt his feet hit hard ground, Yukimura knew he was done dropping._

_Standing up on shaky feet, he wobbled forward, looking for any kind of clue to where he was now. He believed he was experiencing a dream, because in real life, things did not normally spin out of control and flash snip-its of people's lives. Now, he found himself in a garden. Sakura trees bloomed brilliantly, the pink enveloping the soft grass that lay beneath. Birds chirped merrily, and the sounds of cicadas buzzing echoed through the peaceful silence of the sanctuary. "It is almost like I have been here before… Have I seen this place somehow?" Yukimura knelt on the ground, slowly lifting a petal from the ground and fiddling with it in his hands. He definitely had all of his senses functioning, which was a good sign. At least this dream hadn't had anything especially horrific happen… He hoped with all his might that nothing bad would happen in this dream. The problem was no matter how hard he tried, Yukimura couldn't wake himself up from any of the dreams he had. It was almost as if he was trapped in his dreams until they released him… Then, from out on nowhere, two voices buzzed through Yukimura's head._

"_Please don't leave me… Not now at least! You still have a life to live!"_

"_It's alright… I've lived a good life, no matter how short. This war is something you must win."_

"_I can't live without you!" _

"_I have faith in you… Everyone is depending on you… Especially your son…"_

"_It won't matter if we win or not. If you're not there by my side – "_

"_Just win it… My love will forever be with you. I will always be by your side… Maybe not in physical form… but always in your thoughts… your memories… your heart…"_

"_No, please wait! We can find a medic! You can live! We could win this together!" _

"_I'm not important… Don't trouble any of our other medic's… They're busy as it is… And I won't make it even with medical assistance…"_

"_Wait! Just wait! Hang on… For us, please?"_

"_There's no more time… please tell him that –"_

"_NO, I WON'T LET THIS HAPPEN! IT JUST CAN'T END THIS WAY!"_

"_Aishiteru, Sa – "_

_The voices disappeared as suddenly as they came. Yukimura clutched his head, trying to make sense of what he had just heard. Though he couldn't see the couple, he could feel the urgency and pain in their voices. It was… horrendous…_

_His head was pulsing with thoughts of the couple, aching dreadfully. It shattered his heart, knowing there were people suffering. Suffering. That was something no one should have to experience. He himself never had such close contact with emotional pain… Feeling incredibly light headed, he closed his eyes, willing the dizziness to pass. _

_Upon opening his eyes, Yukimura found himself floating. Drifting down an endless river, traveling a great distance. Slowly sinking further into its depths. Why couldn't he wake up from this terrible dream? He tried to inject motion into his limbs, but they weren't responding the way he wanted them to. They felt as heavy as lead, almost paralyzed. Breathing harder, he desperately tried to regain feeling in his limbs, straining and fighting – in vain – against his body. Still, he wouldn't budge._

_"What's going on? Am I dying?" Surprisingly, Yukimura heard his thoughts echo all around him. It was strange; he couldn't speak, yet he could hear thoughts reverberate through out his surroundings. What kind of debilitating dream was this? Slowly, he could feel himself sink lower and lower into the water. It was almost soothing, sinking deeper and deeper into the liquid. Almost as if his very being was being absorbed, making his existence obsolete. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to disappear… After seeing such atrocious visions, he wasn't completely positive if he wanted to go back to the real world and risk seeing more devestation…_

_Yukimura felt his eyes slide shut, once again. Attempting to escape the liquid pull was a waste of energy. A sense of despair rushed over Yukimura as his senses were taken away from him. His ability to see; gone. His ability to smell; gone. His ability to feel; gone. He could not taste the water that embraced him, nor hear the sounds of it swish around him anymore. _

_What was wrong? Why did he feel so drained? So lifeless? Was this the water's fault? Was this dream trying to tell him something? _

_"You're stronger than that, Yukimura. Snap out of it. Fight back, like the strong willed spirit I know you are." A voice whispered from somewhere off in a faraway space. _

_"I can't give up… But what am I to do when I have no mobility?" Asked Yukimura to himself. As if answering his question for him, a bright flash of white light enveloped his body, and Yukimura soon found himself being flung back by a strong force…_

_"Wake up, Yukimura! Wake up…"_

Sanada POV

He wasn't seeing straight. No, it was not possible. It was extremely untrue. That surely could not be the form of Yukimura lying in front of the main conference room. But the thing was, his eyes weren't deceiving him. It was the plain truth, no matter how much Sanada didn't like it.

"Dear Kami-sama, what do I do?" Sanada hurried over toward the smaller boy's shivering form, sitting down next to it as soon as he was beside him. Pressing his hand against Yukimura's forehead, he found that he was burning up with fever.

"And out of all the training I have done in my life, I have never learned the proper ways to treat a fever?" Sanada grunted in frustration. He knew what cured various diseases, how to fix a broken bone, what counteracted all the poisons known to man, but he didn't know how to bring down a fever? How could he have forgotten such a basic thing?

"Think Sanada, think. What did mother always use to treat me when I fell ill?" Wringing his hands together, he searched his mind for the answer, only remembering portions of what she had said.

"The patient shouldn't be kept overdressed, because that raises the fever. Giving the patient a bath with tepid water, about 29.444 Celsius, may help bring down the fever. The patient should be drinking lots of water, to keep hydrated and help the body combat the sickness." His mother's voice reverberated through his head, as he began to undress Yukimura. Yes, he had to undress him, no matter how awkward it was.

Slipping his hands underneath Yukimura, Sanada gently lifted him so that his head rested in his lap. From there, he continued to peel off the slightly damp robes from Yukimura's body. When he was down to the last robe, he only loosened it instead of taking it completely off, out of consideration toward Yukimura. Sanada himself knew that he would not liked to be completely undressed by some stranger, so he would follow that saying, 'treat people how you would want to be treated.' His mother had told him that so many times…

"Iflltreibl…" Yukimura's head turned slightly to the side, as he fell in to convulsive shuddering once again. Sanada knew that he couldn't disrupt the meeting his father was having; it was too important to walk in on. But then again, he couldn't leave Yukimura in this state…

"Okay, remain calm Sanada. You will bring him to the family infirmary, and see if anyone is there. If not, you will take him back to his bedroom and follow through with the rest of the treatment mother would use on a feverish patient." Taking a deep breath, Sanada composed himself. Half a minute later, he gently lifted Yukimura, bridal style, cradling him closely to his chest. With that, he began the long trek back to the infirmary.

While walkling, those confusing thoughts that were bothering him prior to this incident muddled his brain. His heart strangely beat faster than it normally did upon touching the smaller boy. His palms felt clammy and were twitching so badly, he was surprised he could take off Yukimura's outer layer. Sanada's stomach was flipping and knotting itself inside of him as he held him close to his chest. The bizarre thing was that he had never experienced these feelings before. Only around Yukimura… But why? It wasn't that he could like the boy, like that right? Right?

Despite his confusion, he knew he would help this boy; he was sure of it. It was almost if he had some strange connection to this boy… But what was it?

Yukimura POV

"I feel terrible…" Yukimura could feel every muscle in his body tingle, as he was being bobbed up and down? Craning his head up, he tried to see who was carrying him. As his eyes flickered upward for that brief moment, he realized that he was being carried – yes, carried – by Sanada, who had a worried and… was it a concerned look on his face? What the heck was going on here?

A couple things he was sure of; one was that he felt extremely nauseous and was trying very hard not to upchuck on the young master, two was that Sanada would never want to show any kind of emotion on his face, and three was that Sanada wasn't the kind of person to come into close physical contact with anyone at all. So, you can see why Yukimura was completely disoriented. And this wasn't only from the fever.

Yukimura's head was pounding too much to make sense of anything else. He could feel his head droop down further, and his body grow numb once more. There wasn't any time to think about any of the things he learned in his dream. It already took too much out of him to think. With that thought, he felt himself fade back into the welcoming darkness of unconsiousness.

"Well, I hope I don't have to dream again…"

What did everyone think? I liked writing this chapter a lot, because the plot is beginning to tie in! Do any of you readers know where this is going? Or, do you want to give me more ideas for the plot? Or anything else for that matter? PM me, if you have questions or comments, and MAKE SURE YOU REVIEW! It's extremely motivating to get reviews to your stories you've worked so hard on!


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